Brady’s slow starts attributed to injured throwing elbow

As of late, there’s something clearly affecting the performance of Tom Brady in the first quarter of games.

Brady’s quarterback guru Tom Martinez believes the All-Pro’s recent slow starts are related to the bone bruise/tendinitis in his throwing elbow, according to Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald.

Martinez acknowledged the player has been dealing with some discomfort in his throwing arm based on what he’s seen on film.

“I think it does take him a while to get warmed up. He’s kind of holding back a little bit on some of the throws,” Martinez said. “It’s like sticking your hand in hot water. You know you’ve got to do it. You don’t want to do it. You stay away from it as long as you can, but you know you need to. Sooner or later, you’ve got to stick it in there. You know it’s going to hurt. You know it’s too hot. And yet you’ve got to do it if you want to win. I think that’s a good analogy of where he is.”

“The first quarter (against the Chiefs), he’s not as sharp as he is when he’s normal,” Martinez said. “You can see a couple of the throws, he doesn’t have the same velocity. One of the things I would tell him, put a little more extension on the throw, so you’re extending your arm more toward the target. I think when he’s hurting, he pulls his arm down quicker. When you pull your arm down quicker, you don’t have the same velocity or hang time that it does if you can extend. So he’s probably having trouble with extension.”